Adam's Ghost
by emerl01
Summary: Luc and Eddie return from India haunted by a tragedy that has shaken them to the core.
1. Chapter 1

This is dedicated to all the leddie fans still out there, who still miss them. The idea for this short story came to me over the Christmas holidays and wont go away so I thought I'd write it down.

Chapter 1:

Luc and Eddie walked towards the doors of Holby hand in hand. They both looked slightly tanned and healthy but in their eyes you could see a sadness that only good friends of theirs would notice. India had been wonderful and horrible for them in equal measures. The events of three months earlier were still raw and had convinced both of them that maybe it was time to return home. Home to their friends and to familiar surroundings which they hoped would help them heal. Serena had offered both of them jobs when she heard they were returning to the U.K. She had always liked Eddie's spirited and hardworking nature and since there had been no repercussions of Luc's actions before he had left Holby she thought it would be ok for him to come back, besides she said to herself, he is a brilliant doctor. Serena hoped that being married to Eddie now may have helped him improve his bedside manner.

Luc and Eddie headed for Serena's office next door to Hansen's old office. She welcomed them with open arms and sorted out their new hospital ID badges for them. They were returning to work on their old ward AAU and Luc was offered the chance to continue with his research, which he jumped at.

Luc and Eddie headed back down familiar corridors and entered AAU. They looked around, not much had changed, the same old beds and nurses' station but some of the faces were new. They walked over to the nurses' station, Marie-Claire was behind the desk. She looked up at them and smiled.

"Great to have you two back, I hope you're ready to work cos were slammed!" she exclaimed.

"Nice to see you too" said Eddie with a smile. Luc took their coats and bags and put them in the consultant's office. By the time he came back to the nurses station, Eddie was being briefed on the patients by Marie-Claire. Eddie handed a patient's chart to Luc, he quickly read it and scurried off to find the patient.

A few minutes later Sacha entered the ward and stopped in his tracks when he saw Eddie behind the nurses' station. He rubbed his eyes and then ran over to her.

"Now there's a sight for sore eyes!" he exclaimed. He grabbed Eddie and pulled her into one of his famous bear hugs. Eddie didn't resist, she'd missed his hugs. A few seconds later Luc came over, he smiled and said "please unhand my wife" to Sacha.

Sacha looked over to Luc seeing his wedding ring. He pushed Eddie away from him and said "so he finally made an honest woman out of you then" to Eddie and pulled her into another hug. They all laughed. Sacha gave Luc a hug and began asking them millions of questions. They explained how they had gotten back from India a couple of weeks earlier and had been offered their jobs by Serena. They told him how they had gotten married in India in a small ceremony by the edge of a lake with a couple of colleagues and friends as witnesses. Sacha thought it sounded romantic and then asked why they had come home. Eddie just said it was time to come home but didnt elaborate. Sacha knew by both of their faces that there was more to it but didnt push them on it. He knew they would tell him when they were ready to. He could see the sadness in both their eyes and knew it was something big and emotional.

The next couple of days flew by, Luc and Eddie got back into their old working routine. Sacha was amazed at how much in sync they were with each other, it was as if Eddie and Luc could read each other's minds sometimes. He laughed when he thought back to when they first met and how much they seemed to hate each other initially. Now he could see that they adored each other and would be lost without one another even though neither of them would probably ever admit it.

It was a saturday morning when baby Adam was admitted to AAU. He was nine months old and his parents had bought him in because he had a fever and was lethargic. He was admitted to AAU as the childrens ward was closed to new admissions due to a outbreak of a vomiting bug on the ward. Sacha, Luc, and Eddie greeted him when he was wheeled into AAU.

He was transferred into bed eight and Sacha began giving his details.

"Ok, this is Adam Jones, he's nine months old and is suffering from a fever, he's been lethargic for the last few hours and was vomiting up to an hour ago" Sacha said.

Luc and Eddie's faces both fell and they looked at each other shocked. Sacha didnt notice he was too busy looking at the notes. "Any suggestions Luc, Eddie?" Sacha asked.

Luc and Eddie didnt answer, they just stared at each other. Sacha looked up at them both, he could tell there was something wrong by the looks on their faces.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Sacha.

"No, no nothing" Eddie said eventually. She reached over to Luc and squeezed his hand. "Everything's ok, isn't it Luc?" she said with a sad smile. "Yes, yes it's ok" replied Luc. He took the notes from Sacha and began reading through them himself, he hadn't heard anything Sacha had said after Adam's name.

"I suggest fluids, the usual tests and that we run some tests for bacterial and viral infections" Luc said. Sacha agreed and Eddie began taking blood samples from Adam while Luc went off to get some drips to attach to Adam.

About half an hour later Eddie noticed that Luc had disappeared. She checked the whole ward but there was no sign of him. She put on her hoodie and went looking for him. She had been worried about him for weeks, he hadnt really reacted at all to their son Adam's death in India. He'd been putting on a brave face for her she guessed. She knew seeing baby Adam so sick today had had an effect on him. She arrived at Luc's lab and walked inside. She stood silently in the semi-dark for a few seconds and heard a sobbing noise coming from the other room. She walked just inside the door and scanned the room. Eventually she saw Luc sitting on the floor in the corner of the room, he was sobbing uncontrollably.

She walked over and sat down beside him. She stroked the back of his head. "Let it all out, sweetheart, let it all out" she whispered to him. Luc opened up his arms and pulled her to him. "It's happening again, I couldn't save our Adam and now we're going to loose this Adam too" Luc sobbed.

Eddie kissed him on the head and pulled him closer. "Listen to me Luc, it's not happening again ok. We lost our Adam to one of the most virulent fevers ever seen in India, it took out strong, fit men five times his size. There was nothing else either of us could have done to save him. For heaven's sake, it nearly killed me too. You know the only reason I survived it was because I got the correct medicine in time. I am ordering you right now to stop blaming yourself for Adam" Eddie said. Luc looked up at her with tears in her eyes and gave her a sad smile. He continued to cry. Eddie just pulled him close and held him tightly. After a few minutes the crying subsided. Luc looked up at Eddie, he kissed her on the lips. "I dont know what I would have done if I had lost you too. My whole heart would have broken instead of the half that broke when we lost Adam. I love you so much" Luc said. He kissed Eddie again.

"I know what you mean about the heart. I feel as if there's a big whole in my heart since we lost Adam" she replied sadly. Luc pulled her close and kissed her on the top of her head. Eddie lifted her head and kissed her husband passionately on the lips. She felt more in love with him at that moment than she ever had before. She knew how big a moment this was for him, finally admitting to her how he felt about losing their son. Their love for each other overtook them. They made love to each other for the first time since losing Adam there on the cold, hard lab floor.

About half an hour later Eddie and Luc arrived back on AAU both looking slightly scruffy but in happier moods since they had left. Eddie went over to the nurses' station and checked what new results had come in in their absence. Luc went over to check on Adam. He was stable, no better or worse than earlier. He was sleeping soundly. Eddie walked over to Luc as he chatted to Adam's parents Jackie and Kevin. Eddie handed him some test results. Luc looked at them and thought for a few minutes. Eventually it came to him. Jackie and Kevin looked at him with hopeful eyes.

"From the looks of these results I think Adam has bacterial meningitis, the less serious form of meningitis. We'll start him on the correct antibiotics and keep him on the fluid drips. With luck, he'll start to improve in the next few hours. Both of you and any family and friends who have been in contact with Adam in the last 2 days will need to get tested for it. You will also need to tell anyone you have been in contact with in the last 2 days who is feeling unwell to go to hospital immediately. I'm afraid this form of meningitis is very contagious. You brought Adam in at the right time, we caught it early" Luc said reassuringly.

Jackie and Kevin both thanked Luc. They both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Eddie will arrange for the blood tests for you and your family with the outpatients department, it will only take about 5 minutes to have it done. If you can contact your family and let them know to come in as soon as possible" Luc added.

Jackie and Kevin both nodded and thanked Luc again.

Luc handed the notes back to Eddie. "Can you ask the children's ward to send down that antibiotic so we can start Adam's treatment asap please Eddie?" Luc asked.

"No problem" replied Eddie with a smile.

A few hours later Adam was showing good signs of improvement. Only one of his family tested positive for the meningitis but thanks to Luc's quick actions, they received the treatment they needed before it had become serious.

Eddie walked back from Adam's bed over to the nurses' station and stood by Luc. She reached up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"What was that for?" Luc asked surprised.

"My husband the medical genius!" she exclaimed with a smile as she looked back towards Adam's bed.

"Hardly. You can put it down to mis-spent teenage years spent reading medical books for fun instead of chasing girls like a normal teenager would have been doing" Luc replied humbly.

Eddie grabbed Luc, pulling him towards her so she could give him a passionate kiss on the lips. Luc blushed as wolf whistles rang out around the ward. Eddie smiled. "I for one am glad you spent those years reading instead of chasing girls. You probably wouldn't be married to me now if you had been chasing girls" replied Eddie.

"Why do you say that?" asked Luc.

"You'd probably have ended up a banker or something with a blonde trophy wife instead of me" Eddie replied.

"I dont think so. I hate maths and I've never really been into blondes. You know I prefer mad brunettes from Leeds" Luc said with a smile.

Eddie gave him dig for calling her mad and gave him a massive big smile.

Adam was released from hospital a few days later after making a full recovery. Luc and Eddie were sad to see him go, he reminded them of their lost son who would have been the same age as Adam if he had lived. Life went on as normal in AAU, the usual mix of accidents, fights, and illness that they usually had to deal with. Luc re-started his research work while Eddie tried to find them a flat to live in. It was starting to get cold and the campervan wasnt going to be warm enough for them for the coming winter.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

It was about three months since baby Adam had been treated. He arrived back into AAU with his parents Jackie and Kevin to see the people who had saved his life. His parents had brought him in to get his eyesight and hearing checked as part of the follow up to his treatment. Eddie smiled as he came toddling towards her closely followed by his smiling parents. Eddie grabbed him and pulled him up. She held him tightly giving him a hug.

"Hello my darling, how are you?" she asked him. Adam just giggled at her. "Hi Kevin, Jackie, how are you two?" she asked.

"We're very well thank you. And so is this little mite thanks to you and your husband" replied Jackie. Eddie put Adam down as he was struggling to get down. "All part of the job" replied Eddie humbly. "What brings you here?" Eddie asked.

"We were just in with the doctors in outpatients to get his hearing and eyesight checked, he passed with flying colours thankfully" replied Jackie smiling and pointing to Adam.

By this time Luc had arrived on the scene. He knelt down on the floor and gave Adam a big hug. "Wow, he's getting big and heavy" Luc said as he picked him up.

"Yes he is. He'll soon be playing football for Holby city FC if I have my way" replied Kevin laughing.

Kevin and Jackie thanked them again for looking after Adam so well and left them a tin of chocolates as a thank you.

Eddie walked out with them to the front door chatting with them on the way. Jackie commented on how good both her and Luc are with children and asked if they were going to have their own some day. Eddie replied that they would some day, God willing. She didnt have the heart to tell them what had happened to their Adam.

On the way back to the ward Eddie stopped at the coffee shop, she got Luc his favourite coffee but just got herself some juice. The smell of coffee made her feel sick for some reason.

When she got back to the ward Luc gladly accepted his coffee as he wolfed down some chocolates. He offered Eddie the tin. "No thanks. The smell of them is making me feel sick" replied Eddie.

"Are you ok? It's very unlike you to refuse chocolates and you're drinking juice instead of coffee?" Luc replied concerned.

"I'm ok. Just feeling a bit nauseous today. It's probably just a dodgy tummy or something" Eddie replied brushing it off.

Luc walked over beside her and put his hand on her forehead. "You dont have a raised temperature. Let me know if you start feeling worse ok" he said.

"I will. I'm ok dont worry" Eddie replied.

A few hours later the ward was quiet, Eddie sat at the nurses station. Her mind drifted to Adam and what his mum had said. Suddenly something struck her. She was deep in thought when Luc approached her.

"Hey are you ok?" he asked seeing the expression on her face.

Eddie got up suddenly and put on her hoodie. She was feeling cold all of a sudden. "Im just going to the ladies, back in a few minutes" she replied vaguely.

She stopped off in the store cupboard before going to the ladies.

About 10 minutes later Luc's phone beeped in his pocket. It was a text from Eddie saying "roof now". Luc ran up the stairs as fast as he could. All sorts of things were going through his mind, what would he find when he got there. He opened the roof door and walked out. Eddie was standing in the middle of the roof, beside the steps where they had first met.

Luc ran over to her. It was early evening and getting dark. He ran up to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Are you ok? Are you sick?" he asked. She was shivering in his arms.

"Luc, I'm scared" Eddie whispered.

"Why are you scared? I'm here with you. I'll protect you" he replied trying to reassure her.

"Luc, I'm pregnant. I'm so scared" Eddie whispered to him.

Luc put his hands either side of her face and looked into her eyes. There were tears rolling down his cheeks but a smile on his face.

"Eddie I know you're scared. I know how you feel, I couldn't bear to loose another child either, it would break my heart but we have to believe that it's going to be ok this time, that it's going to work out ok. We just have to" Luc replied.

Luc pulled Eddie close again. "It's going to be alright, it's going to be alright" Eddie whispered to herself a few times. After a few minutes, Luc kissed Eddie on the lips. "Come on, we had better go inside. It's freezing out here" Luc said.

They walked inside and got into the lift. Luc was so preoccupied that he didnt even notice they were in the lift. He rubbed Eddie to warm her up.

"Lets not tell anyone until you've had a blood test to confirm it and we've had the first scan" Luc said as they approached their floor.

"OK. Sounds good" replied Eddie. She felt happier but was still scared something would happen. As the pregnancy progressed Eddie got more and more confident that everything would be ok. Luc drove her mad during the pregnancy fussing over her, watching what she ate and making sure she got enough rest. Eddie didnt mind most of the time, she knew it was just his way of showing how much he cared. And besides, it was a good excuse to get him to do some of the housework.

Luc came home one afternoon in June a week before the due date and searched the house for Eddie, she wasn't in any of her usual spots. Suddently, there was a squeal from the bathroom. He ran over and opened the door. Eddie was in the bath and squealing in pain because she was in labour.

"What are you doing in there?" Luc asked smiling.

"I was aching all over and the heat was killing me so I was having a bath to cool myself down. Dont just stand there help me up. We need to get to the hospital, the contractions are about 6 minutes apart" Eddie instructed.

Luc helped her up, dried her off and helped her into their bedroom where he helped her get dressed. He grabbed her overnight bag and they ran out the door. Fortunately, their house was only a five minute walk or 8 minute waddle in Eddie's case from the hospital.

"I've been thinking, I dont want those midwives in maternity anywhere near me. We're going to have this baby in AAU, you and Sacha and Marie-claire can deliver it, you all know what you're doing" Eddie said as they hurried toward the hospital.

"Are you sure that's wise? AAU isn't really equipped for deliveries" Luc replied.

"That's what I want. I feel safe in AAU" Eddie replied. Luc did as she said and brought her into AAU. Just over an hour later Marie-Claire with Luc's help helped Eddie deliver a healthy baby girl who Eddie and Luc would later name Eve.

It was four years later on a cold winters day. Eddie was at home in their house making dinner while Eve played in her room with her toys. Eve had grown into a beautiful, kind but spirited girl who was very clever like her dad. Eddie went upstairs and stopped at the door to Eve's bedroom. It sounded like she was having an argument with someone, which Eddie thought was odd because she was alone in the room. Eddie thought it was just part of a game Eve was playing so didn't think much of it. "Eve, sweeheart, can you get yourself cleaned up for dinner? Your dad is on his way home" Eddie asked.

"Ok mummy" Eve replied. Eve went into the bathroom and washed her hands and face. Being careful not to get her long brown hair wet. She was very proud of her hair and always threw a tantrum when Eddie tried to bring her to the hairdresser.

As Eve got to the bottom of the stairs the front door opened. Luc walked in. Eve ran over and gave him a big hug. Luc picked her up off the floor and twirled her around. "How are you my princess? Did you have a good day?" Luc asked when he put her down.

"It was an ok day" Eve replied cryptically.

"Oh, only ok?" asked Luc.

"Come on, mummy has dinner ready for us" Eve said deliberately changing the subject. She grabbed Luc by the hand and led him into the kitchen.

Luc walked over to Eddie, put his arms around her and gave her a kiss on the cheek as she stirred the food on the hob.

"Hi Sweetheart, how was your day?"Luc asked Eddie.

"Good, we went out to the shops and the park for a short while. It was too cold to stay out in the park very long though. Wasnt it Eve?" Eddie replied.

"Yes. Mummy made us cocoa to warm us up when we got home. She even put marshmallows in it!" exclaimed Eve smiling.

"Sounds like I missed out there. You'll have to make me some after dinner" replied Luc.

"Sure, no problem. You can both sit down, I'm dishing out the dinner" replied Eddie.

Luc and Eddie discussed his work and the hospital while they ate dinner. Eddie looked at Eve, she was eating her dinner slowly and seemed to have something on her mind.

"Is everything ok Eve?" Eddie asked.

"No. Will l have to share a bedroom with my new brother when he arrives?" Eve asked.

Eddie and Luc both looked at her in shock.

"Who told you you are getting a new brother?" Luc asked confused. He wasnt even aware that Eddie was pregnant again never mind that they were having a boy.

"Adam did. He came to see me today and told me he wouldnt be coming to play with me much anymore because I'll have a new brother to play with in a few months time" Eve replied matter of factly.

Eddie and Luc looked at each other confused.

"Whose Adam?" Eddie asked.

"Mummy, dont be silly, he's my older brother. He looks like daddy does in the old photos cept he's younger" Eve replied.

"When does he come to visit you?" asked Luc.

"Oh, about once a week. He sometimes lies beside me in bed when you read us the bedtime story daddy. Can't you see him too?" asked Eve.

"No sweetheart. We can't" replied Luc. Luc looked over at Eddie, there were tears in her eyes and she was shaking.

"So am I going to have to share the room or not?" asked Eve.

"I'm sure you can move into the spare room. We can even paint it any colour you want. How's that?" asked Luc.

"That sounds good" replied Eve happily. She went back to eating her dinner.

Luc looked at Eddie. "So is there something you want to tell me?" he asked.

"How did she know that I'm pregnant? I only found out this morning myself and hadn't told anyone. It's too early to tell if it's a boy or a girl. How does she know? Is she really seeing Adam and playing with him?" asked Eddie.

"That's alot of questions all at once. I've heard before that young children can see the spirits of the dead sometimes but I didnt believe it until now. I guess we'll find out in a few months time where it's a boy or girl. And come to think of it, it does explain a few things about Eve's behaviour sometimes. She does lie to one side of her bed when I read her a story some nights" replied Luc bemused.

Eddie laughed. "I guess that has to be the most unusual way to find out you are going to be a father again" she said.

"You're right about that one!" exclaimed Luc. He got up from the table and walked over to Eddie. He pulled her up by the hand and wrapped his arms around her. He gave her a passionate kiss on the lips. He pulled away slightly and put his hand down to pat her stomach. He whispered, "I love you two" referring to Eddie and their tiny baby inside her.

A few hours later Luc helped Eve get ready for bed. She was about to be tucked into bed when she suddently got up and ran out the door. She went downstairs to find Eddie, she gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I forgot, Adam told me to give you a hug and kiss from him" Eve said in explanation. She did the same to Luc.

Seven months later, just as Eve and Adam had said, Eddie gave birth to a baby boy. They named him Jack after Luc's favourite grandfather.

The end.

Sorry if there's any mistakes or inaccurate medical things in this. E. xx.

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